Upskilling and training key to talent shortage, experts tell IT Brew

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Tech unemployment went up in January, but there’s still a lot of jobs to be had—though filling those positions might require some creativity.

That’s what Crystal Morin, a cybersecurity strategist at Sysdig, told IT Brew recently. To Morin, fears about a talent shortage are overblown—with the proper training and upskilling and a more open pool of applicants, the deficit isn’t so intimidating, she believes.

Mind the gap. “I like to call it a skills gap, because I don’t think there’s a shortage of people, necessarily—I think there’s plenty of people out there on the job market that we could bring into cybersecurity,” Morin said. “They just might not necessarily have the skills that line up with these half a million jobs.”

This approach to hiring can include people from diverse backgrounds, Morin added, whether it be marketers, mechanics, or teaching. The basic skill sets that are required for success in the cybersecurity sector aren’t always found in traditional educational or career paths, she said. There are “tons of different skills that people don’t realize can transfer,” Morin told IT Brew.

Digitize it. AI’s role in the tech workplace likely has some workers feeling a little uncertain of their future at work, due in part to how the technology is being deployed in some workplaces to cut staff and lay people off. Andrea Derler, head of research publications at workforce AI company Visier, said that while there isn’t evidence that AI has led to widespread job losses in the industry, “the consensus is that there’s a lot of augmentation happening.”

For some in the industry, adapting to the change is a learning process. But overall, Morin agrees that the introduction of AI to the sector has opened the door for more opportunities.

“AI is not perfect and not going to give the correct answer all the time, but I think it really is going to help supplement and support on-the-job training,” Morin said.